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Your moment of Everglades Zen: Successful restoration looks like this

We know the bad-news reel gets old. It’s good to stop and remember what we’re working so hard to protect. Here’s your dose of Everglades zen. Take a look at the 11-second video above. Posted to Twitter by Shannon Estenoz, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Park, it offers a glimpse of the completed restoration of the Kissimmee River from a channelized canal back to historic, winding oxbows. Twenty-two years after construction began, the project represents progress our founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, would be proud of. She spoke vehemently about the disastrous impacts that removing the serpentine curves of the Everglades’ headwaters would have on the entire flowing ecosystem from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to [...]

2021-08-03T15:44:10-04:00August 3rd, 2021|All Posts, Everglades Restoration, Everglades Zen|
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Fix the FLO Summit Invitation

Fix the FLO Summit Thursday, December 17, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friends of the Everglades joins the Rivers Coalition, the Florida Oceanographic Society, and the Indian Riverkeeper in welcoming virtual attendees to join the first Fix the FLO Summit using the following Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89623472723 Tune in to hear from state and federal lawmakers representing the St. Lucie Estuary region of the Greater Everglades as they communicate their plans for addressing water quality and quantity issues related to Lake Okeechobee discharges that plague our local waterways. Featured Lawmakers: - Congressman Brian Mast - State Senator Gayle Harrell - State Rep. John Snyder - State Rep. Toby Overdorf - State Rep. Dana Trabulsy We hope you will join us Dec. 17 at [...]

2020-12-15T14:38:32-05:00December 15th, 2020|All Posts, Everglades Restoration|
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WATCH: Big Agriculture fights to keep status quo

Members of Congress met last week for a hearing on the Everglades and water management in Florida. During the hearing, Congresswomen Debbie Mucarsel-Powell asked all 5 witnesses if they support how water is currently managed in Lake Okeechobee. Here's how the vote stacked up: NO: Elizabeth Jolin, Captain, The Bay and Reef Company of the Florida Keys NO: Chauncey P. Goss, II, Chairman, South Florida Water Management District Governing Board NO: Noah Valenstein, Secretary, Florida Department of Environmental Protection NO: Shannon Estenoz, Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs, The Everglades Foundation YES: Gary Ritter, Assistant Director of Government and Community Affairs, FL Farm Bureau Federation One of these is not like the others... Watch the full Everglades hearing here: [...]

2020-09-28T14:56:21-04:00September 28th, 2020|All Posts, Everglades Restoration, U.S. Congress|
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Friends of the Everglades submits congressional testimony on Everglades restoration, water management in Florida

Today at 11 a.m., members of Congress will host a virtual hearing on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and water management in Florida. Tune in here to watch five witnesses appear before the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Friends of the Everglades submitted the following congressional testimony in advance of this important hearing to drive home two main points: Human health must be a top priority for the Army Corps of Engineers, particularly when it comes to protecting people from the threat of toxic algae; and we need an EAA Storage Reservoir that is truly effective. Click here to view the testimony in full. 

2020-09-23T10:52:17-04:00September 23rd, 2020|All Posts, Everglades Restoration, Friends of the Everglades Statements|
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Recording Available Now! Clean Water Conversations: Revisiting “The Swamp”

Did you miss today's Clean Water Conversation featuring author of "The Swamp," Michael Grunwald? No worries! We've got you covered. Thank you to all of you who were able to join us today. We invite you to revisit parts of the conversation, or share it with friends, with a recorded version, available here. Huge thanks to Michael Grunwald for sharing his time and his thoughts on what's changed (and what hasn't) since "The Swamp" was published in 2006. It's clear that we continue to face an uphill battle, but let's face it, he's right — “This place is paradise...we have to figure out how we can all live here sustainably.” If you enjoyed this event, please consider helping us fund the [...]

2020-07-01T13:51:40-04:00June 25th, 2020|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Everglades Restoration|
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RECOVER Northern Estuary Salinity Envelope Public Comment

Ms. Ehlinger, Please find Friends of the Everglades' attached line-by-line feedback pertaining to the RECOVER Northern Estuaries Salinity Envelope Performance Metrics. We thank the Army Corps of Engineers and the whole RECOVER team for its work on these draft metrics, which are an improvement over the 2007 targets. That said, we see room for improvement if the RECOVER metrics are to stand as a true measure of CERP’s ability to restore, preserve and protect the South Florida ecosystem while balancing other water-related needs. First and foremost, Friends of the Everglades strongly opposes including any Lake Okeechobee Regulatory Releases in “Optimum” performance metrics for the St. Lucie Estuary. The St. Lucie Estuary requires ZERO cubic feet of water from Lake Okeechobee; [...]

2020-07-01T13:53:48-04:00May 29th, 2020|All Posts, Caloosahatchee Estuary, Everglades Restoration, Friends of the Everglades Statements, St. Lucie Estuary|
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Recording Available Now! Clean Water Conversations: What’s up with the EAA Reservoir?

Thank you to everyone that joined us today for our Clean Water Conversation surrounding the EAA Reservoir. If you missed parts of the conversation or want to share this with a friend, you can find the full recording HERE. https://youtu.be/vXu-UAoBr8s A big thank you goes out to Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch and Diana Umpierre for making this a successful and informative event. Today's topic of conversation will continue to evolve. We'll be sure to pass on new information and chances for the public to weigh in on the project as we come across them. We’ll keep you posted and hope you’ll join us for the next Clean Water Conversation. By the way, this effort is funded by people like you who care about protecting [...]

2020-07-01T13:55:10-04:00May 21st, 2020|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Everglades Restoration|
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Join us virtually! Clean Water Conversation: What’s up with the EAA Reservoir?

What are you doing at noon Thursday? If you’re working from home, as I am, I hope you’ll grab a sandwich and tune in live to our next Clean Water Conversation, streamed via Friends of the Everglades’ Facebook page.  The topic: What’s up with the EAA Storage Reservoir? No concept has dominated the conversation about Everglades restoration more than this project, and we have some important new developments to discuss. The $1.8 billion reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee is intended to send clean water south to the Everglades, while delivering a degree of relief from toxic Lake Okeechobee discharges to the northern estuaries. But the EAA Reservoir, as planned, is a shadow of the 60,000-acre undertaking once envisioned for the [...]

2020-07-01T13:55:26-04:00May 19th, 2020|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Everglades Restoration|
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Congress must reject 20-year-old water promises to protect future of Lake Okeechobee, estuaries & Everglades

The following letter was sent by Friends of the Everglades to all Florida congressional offices requesting their rejection of the intentionally manipulative language additions that would ultimately prioritize the water supply needs for large industrial farms south of Lake Okeechobee over the health of residents living along toxic-algae plagued waterways. April 29, 2020 To the members of Florida's congressional delegation: On behalf of Friends of the Everglades, I’m writing to voice our concerns about an effort to manipulate this year’s Water Resources & Development Act (WRDA) in a manner that would be detrimental to the Everglades, the northern estuaries and Florida Bay. In an email sent Tuesday, April 28, Rep. Alcee Hastings’ staff requested other representatives sign onto a letter [...]

2020-07-01T13:56:33-04:00April 29th, 2020|All Posts, Everglades Restoration, Florida Legislature, Friends of the Everglades Statements, Human Health and Safety|
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